me

This morning on my bike, riding to get milk and cereal for my kids before they woke, I had a thought, “I’m a modern day hunter and gatherer.”
Then all the reasons this statement is not true came to mind. We still don’t have chickens, our garden is a pile of weeds and dead starts, and I do not hunt. In reality, I am feeling a bit like a sustainable-living failure. There IS something, though, to be said about coming home hot and sweaty from the effort of getting food for the family. That’s all I’ve got. I ride to get most of our food. I am not an athlete, but I can be seen riding my route several times a week throughout the year.
So, if you ever think you are a sustainable-living failure and a far cry from being an athlete, try dusting off that bike and get yourself a basket (or trailer) to hold a few groceries. Or, if that isn’t possible, at least use your reusable bags.

I heard this song, titled Wolves, the other day for the umpteenth time (Phosphorescent has become a favorite). When I heard it again I realized it was played on a Ukulele. I’ve been learning to play this little instrument since January and my list of rock songs I know is pretty short.  I quickly added this to my list (found the tab here).

I have been contributing to a monthly self portrait project and May’s theme was “song title”. I couldn’t decide, couldn’t decide. Especially since I just photographed using a song as inspiration pretty recently (see Talking Backwards). But once I learned the lyrics to Wolves I realized how profound the song really is.

I love music and am often blown away by the meaning, power, cynicism, and even humor found in some of my favorite songs. I  feel a connection to the songs and artists that I love often because of their lyrics. Sometimes I just realize how very different I am from them.  Either way, the spoken word is powerful and can be quite beautiful.

I’m not sure how much I have posted on my blog about my monthly self portrait project.  Each month a few other photographers along with myself are given a theme by the talented Heather Earle.   We have all started a blog together called My Reflective Lens.  Here is my entry for this month.

This was read in Relief Society (the women’s group) yesterday at Church.  It struck me, and reminds me of Brene Brown’s TED talk. Brene talks about being authentic and real, knowing that perfection is not a prerequisite for love and happiness.  We should not fear others, not worry about popularity.  Our job is to search for truth and lean on that and not be pushed off course.
This poem (and the lesson that was shared with it) also speaks of commitment. Commitment to a cause, to family, to others, to self, to life. Commitment is what moves us forward, helps us (and those we associate with) learn and grow. I need more commitment, more drive, more immersion in life. Immersion can be frightening.  It’s nicer to escape.  I lack commitment but it’s in me. It just needs to be awoken. Simply having a place to write my thoughts, as they come to me, will help me learn and grow. No, not on this blog… on paper.  I love paper and pen.  Such old tools.

Truth.